Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9)

by Tina Folsom

  “You’re such pessimists,” Wes complained and turned on his heel. “Call me when it’s all done and I’ll take care of the girl, too.”

  When the door closed behind him, Maya took up the pliers once more. “Well, let’s do it then.”

  Cain took both sides of David’s head again and turned it to face upward.

  “Spread his jaw open,” Maya instructed.

  He gripped the vampire’s jaw and pried it open, then reached for the metal rectangle which was the size of a candy bar and wedged it between David’s teeth on the left side of his mouth, making sure his mouth remained open and Maya could freely access the right side.

  Cain watched as she set the pliers at the spot where the small metal ball that the Mississippi vampires had implanted was visible. She tried to grip it with her instrument, but it slipped without finding purchase.

  Maya looked up. “I can’t get a grip. I’ll have to cut it out instead.”

  She set aside the pliers and reached for a scalpel instead. The moment she made the first incision into the gum, the air filled with the scent of the vampire’s blood. Cain turned his head away, but he couldn’t prevent his fangs from lengthening as a reaction to the smell.

  “That’s better,” he heard Maya mumble. “Just a little bit more.” She grunted and Cain felt David’s head in his hands move.

  “Shit, he’s coming to,” Cain warned her. “Quick!”

  “Gabriel, the pliers.”

  Instantly, Gabriel jumped and handed her the pliers while taking the scalpel from her hand.

  A moan came from the patient now.

  Cain noticed David’s eyeballs move underneath his lids. “It’s wearing off too quickly.”

  “Got it!” Maya called out and pulled.

  Blood splattered as Maya ripped the ball from the vampire’s mouth and tossed it in a bowl.

  “Now the other side.”

  Gabriel already switched the scalpel for the pliers in her hand, while Cain hastily moved the metal block in the vampire’s mouth to the other side.

  The incision on the left seemed to take Maya less time, and moments later she was already gripping the second ball with her instrument.

  When she ripped the ball out, David’s head reared up and his eyes shot open at the same time. A pain-filled scream tore from his throat while blood splattered all over his front and the metal block slipped from his mouth. His eyes were glaring red, and he jerked at his restraints.

  “It’s over, David, it’s all good,” Cain tried to calm him and gripped his shoulders, pressing him back down onto the table.

  The vampire’s chest heaved, but finally his eyes connected with Cain’s gaze, and he blinked.

  “Are they out?” he asked, his speech sounding a little muffled.

  Maya smiled at him. “Yes, they’re both out. Let’s get you some human blood so you can heal.”

  David closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he looked calm again. “Thank you. All of you.”

  “Did you feel anything?” Maya asked.

  “Only when you pulled just now.”

  “Good.”

  David looked around the room. “Where’s the witch?”

  “We sent him outside. I figured you might not want to see him after this,” Cain said.

  “Bring him back. And make sure he gives Kathryn a larger dosage of his potion. I don’t want her to feel any pain.”

  “You got it,” Cain agreed.

  34

  While both Kathryn and David were resting after their procedures, and Maya and Gabriel watching over them to see if their fangs would indeed grow back during their restorative sleep, Cain paced in this office.

  Faye’s staunch belief in Robert’s innocence made him doubt his own suspicions. Though Thomas had talked to the prisoner, he hadn’t been able to make him admit to the treasonous act. Robert had continued to declare his innocence.

  Did he have anything to lose by talking to Robert himself?

  Cain charged out of his office and nearly bumped into Abel in the hallway.

  “Whoa, Cain, where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  “Going to see Robert in his cell.”

  “Ah, the traitor. Do you want me to come with you?”

  Cain was already walking past Abel and didn’t even turn his head when he responded, “No!” and continued on his way into the lower level of the palace. By now he knew the layout well enough to find the cellblock without having to ask anybody for directions.

  One guard—Cain recognized him as Simon—sat at a table in the anteroom to the cells. He jumped up instantly when Cain entered.

  “Good evening, Your Majesty.”

  “Evening. Open Robert’s cell and let me in.”

  “Of course, sir.” Simon unhooked the keys from his belt and motioned to a heavy iron door at the end of the corridor.

  Cain walked to it and waited until the guard had unlocked and opened it. “Lock it after me. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

  He stepped into the dim interior and heard the door shut behind him with a loud thud. His eyes perceived Robert instantly. He sat on a small cot in the corner, his back stiff and his gaze locked onto Cain.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Robert said with a good dose of sarcasm in his tone.

  Cain didn’t let that show of defiance deter him. “Faye is pleading for your release.”

  A spark ignited in the older vampire’s eyes. “Ah, Faye, she still believes in the good in people, doesn’t she?”

  “Is she wrong in doing so?”

  “Sometimes she is.”

  “And this time?”

  Robert gave a slow shake of his head. “This time her instincts are right. I’m not a traitor. What I told you is true. Somebody set me up.”

  “And why should I believe you?”

  “I can’t help you there.” Robert shrugged.

  “That’s not very helpful.”

  “Why are you really here? If Faye had managed to convince you, you’d be releasing me now.” He glanced at the door. “But it doesn’t look like you’re letting me go. So, if she couldn’t convince you of my innocence, there’s no reason for me to try. You and I, we always had a bit of a rocky relationship. If you trust anybody in this place, it’s Faye. It’s always been that way, ever since you rescued her.”

  To have Robert confirm Cain’s trust in Faye felt reassuring. “A rocky relationship, huh?”

  Robert smiled. “Yeah. I never approved of the way you disposed of the old king.”

  Cain instinctively took a step back. “Disposed of?” What was Robert suggesting?

  The captive dropped his eyes to the floor. “My apologies if you think that’s not the right word for what you did. No matter whether he deserved it or not. But you slaughtered him; you let him suffer like an animal before you put him out of his misery.” Robert made a dismissive movement with his hand. “Well, it’s all water under the bridge now. You got what you wanted, didn’t you? And now you’re king. And guess what, you find it just as difficult to make the right decisions as any of your predecessors.”

  The words hit him hard. Had he, Cain, really killed the previous king? No, that couldn’t be. He wasn’t an assassin. He was honorable man with ethics. Not a murderer, and for certain not a man who inflicted undue pain. He didn’t torture people.

  “You’re mistaken.”

  “Why deny it?” Robert asked, meeting his eyes. “Everybody suspects it, though only few know with certainty.”

  “That’s enough!” Cain ground out between clenched teeth.

  “See, you can’t even take the truth, but you expect me to accept being falsely accused. I’m innocent. Faye believes in me.”

  Cain looked away and tried to clear his mind. He didn’t want to dwell on Robert’s revelation that he was a king slayer, because wouldn’t that mean that he, Cain, was evil?

  “Faye says you’re her friend.”

  “She needed a shoulder to cry on when she thought you w
ere dead.”

  “I thought Abel would have been that shoulder.”

  Robert scoffed. “Abel? She was avoiding him as much as she could.”

  The words only reinforced Cain’s suspicion that Abel had been trying to drive a wedge between him and Faye, even though it appeared that Cain had driven that wedge in himself now by not coming clean with her. It was something he needed to do, or he would lose her. But Faye had given him one other condition to fulfill: she wanted Robert’s freedom.

  Cain looked back at his prisoner, staring long and hard at him. Could he take the risk to believe in Robert’s words and free him? Maybe it was time to take that leap.

  “Guard!”

  ***

  “Guard! Open the fucking door!” Cain yelled from behind the heavy cell door.

  Abel felt like rubbing his hands together and only refrained from it because it was a childish gesture. However, it didn’t make him feel any less giddy. The timing was perfect. And even though this had not been his original plan, he couldn’t have planned it any better himself.

  Cain was in the cell with Robert. This was the perfect occasion to pin Cain’s murder on Robert and thus still implicate the Mississippi clan. Everybody knew that Robert had been found with incriminating materials he’d wanted to send to the rival clan. Nobody believed his claim that the blueprints had been planted. Nobody but Abel, because Abel had been the one who had slipped the papers into Robert’s ledger and made sure one of Baltimore’s men would find them there and report it.

  It had all worked like clockwork, though Abel had only done it to draw suspicion on the Mississippians, so that once Cain was found dead when the rival clan arrived for the festivities, it would be easy to point the finger.

  But the solution that lay in front of him now was even easier. All he would have to do was kill Cain himself, pin it on Robert, then execute him and declare war on the Mississippians.

  Abel made a motion to Simon, the guard who was stationed in the cellblock. He was loyal to Baltimore. Simon walked up to him and Abel bent closer, talking quietly into his ear and giving him instructions as to what to do.

  Simon nodded obediently and walked to a cupboard. He unlocked it and took out a small-caliber handgun. He screwed the silencer onto its front end.

  “Loaded?” Abel whispered.

  “With silver bullets.”

  Abel took it and cocked the gun. He loved the sound that echoed against the stone walls. “Do you have a stake?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Make sure it’s found in Robert’s cell once we’re done.” Even though Abel was going to shoot his brother with a silver bullet which would incinerate him from the inside out, the end result would be the same. Nobody finding Cain’s ashes would be able to tell whether he’d been staked or shot. All Abel had to do was to remove the bullet and the casing from the cell before he sounded the alarm. Nobody would hear the shot.

  “Ready?” Abel asked.

  Simon nodded and slipped the key into the lock, then turned it silently. At Abel’s nod, he pushed the door open.

  Abel aimed into the dark, his trigger finger twitching.

  But he didn’t pull the trigger.

  The cell was empty.

  Stunned, he turned to his accomplice. “What the fuck?”

  The vampire guard looked just as surprised. Only moments earlier, Abel had heard Cain call out to the guard to be let out of the cell. But Simon hadn’t opened the door.

  Abel had to think quickly. If Cain and Robert had escaped somehow, it wouldn’t take long until they were coming back around the other side, exposing his plan. He had no time to wonder how they’d done it. He had to cover his tracks. This instant.

  “Sorry about this,” Abel said, looking at Simon.

  The shot was muffled by the silencer, hitting Simon in the forehead. Slowly the vampire disintegrated into dust.

  Abel cursed. He was back to square one, and would now patiently have to wait until he could execute his original plan. So much for golden opportunities.

  35

  In the tunnel, Cain turned to Robert. “Take off your shirt.”

  “What for?”

  “So I can blindfold you.” After all, even though he’d found the entrance to the tunnels that John had mentioned and had managed to get himself and Robert out of the cell before somebody had thrown the door open, Cain wasn’t about to reveal all his secrets to Robert. He couldn’t allow him to actually see the tunnels. It was bad enough that he now knew about them.

  “One word about the tunnels, and I’ll stake you myself.”

  Robert took off his shirt and handed it to Cain. “You have my word.”

  Had Cain not heard the cocking of a gun through the door as well as some low whispers, whose origin he couldn’t discern, he and Robert would have been sitting ducks. Dead sitting ducks. Who the would-be assassin had been, he didn’t even want to speculate about at this point.

  As soon as Robert was blindfolded, Cain took him by the elbow and guided him through the labyrinth until he reached the secret walkway that led to the king’s suite. He let himself in, dragging Robert with him. When the piece of artwork snapped back into place in front of the hidden door in his room, he turned Robert around his own axis several times.

  “Now you can take off your blindfold.”

  When Robert did so, his eyes roamed the room. “What now?”

  Cain had already marched to the door, but stopped himself before he reached it and rushed to the bedside table. He bent down and pulled a gun from the drawer and holstered it, when his eyes fell on something beneath his bed. A cell phone. His hand instinctively went to his pants pocket, but his cell phone was where it was supposed to be. Not having time to investigate this any further, he rushed to the door and opened it.

  “Haven?” he called out.

  A moment later, his Scanguards colleague popped his head out of his room, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “Yeah?”

  “I need you, now!”

  “Gotta go. Kiss the baby for me. Love you,” he said into the phone then disconnected the call and rushed toward Cain. “What’s wrong?”

  “I believe somebody made another attempt on my life.”

  “Shit!”

  “Get your gun.” Then he turned to Robert. “Stay here.”

  Haven returned to his room and was back two seconds later, his gun in his hand. Behind him, a sleepy looking Wesley emerged. “What’s going on?” His clothes looked rumpled.

  “Go and make sure Faye is in her suite. Then guard her with your life.”

  Not waiting for his answer, Cain charged down the hallway, heading for the cellblock, Haven on his heels.

  When he entered the anteroom to the cells, Cain already knew he was too late. The door to Robert’s cell stood wide open, but the cellblock was empty. The guard was gone, and so was whatever visitor he’d had. His eyes fell on a cupboard whose door was still swinging as if somebody had slammed it, but failed to let it snap shut. In the cupboard, several guns hung on hooks.

  Cain walked to it and sniffed. One of them had been fired recently. He could still smell the residue.

  “Shit, look at that!” Haven called out to him.

  Cain turned and saw him crouching down near the door to the cell. When he approached, Cain could see what his friend was looking at. A fine layer of ash. Amidst it lay a cell phone and some coins. The keys still stuck in the door.

  “Somebody killed the guard.”

  Cain nodded and tilted his head toward the cupboard behind him. “One of those guns was fired. And I’m sure once we examine it, we’ll find out that there are no fingerprints on it.”

  “Let’s give it a whirl anyway,” Haven suggested.

  “You and Gabriel check it out. Then go get Robert and bring him to a safe place.” After this attempt, Cain was certain that Robert had been framed as he’d claimed. “I have to talk to John.”

  Cain turned on his heel and left. He found the leader of the king’s guard in his
new room on the first floor. When Cain ripped the door open, an only half-dressed John reared up from his bed.

  “Cain!” John set his feet on the floor and jumped up. “What do you need?”

  “I need to know the truth. Did I assassinate the old king?”

  Clearly stunned, John blinked. “How do you—?”

  “—know? Robert alluded to it. Is it true?”

  John looked down at his bare feet. “Yes.”

  “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

  John lifted his head. “It wasn’t important.”

  “It wasn’t important? I’m a murderer, an assassin!”

  “And it’s always haunted you. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to go through the same thing again. You blamed yourself for how savagely you killed him, despite the fact that the old bastard deserved everything that he got.”

  All air rushed from Cain’s lungs. “I slaughtered him, didn’t I?” Was that what he was, a man without scruples? A cold-blooded murderer?

  John nodded. “When you saw what he’d done, you flew into a rage. And when you saw his victims, when you saw Faye, there was no stopping you.”

  “Faye?”

  “She was one of the unfortunates he’d locked up in a part of the cellars that’s now been filled in with debris. You found out that the old king liked to make it a sport to capture vampires from other clans and torture them. Faye was one of them.”

  Cain rubbed a hand over his face. “Oh, God.”

  “I didn’t want you to have to think about all this again. I needed you to have a clear head.”

  “Who else knows I killed the king?”

  “Your brother, of course. He was your second-in-command when you were leader of the king’s guard. A few others knew, Robert included. But the rest of your subjects only suspect it was you.”

  “There must be members of my clan who hate me for it.”

  “No doubt, but the few who know for certain never breathed a word about it, and the others won’t raise a hand against you.”

  “They’re afraid of me, aren’t they? Afraid that I’ll kill whoever rises against me.”

  “Every king has his enemies.”

  “And I have more than my fair share. No wonder somebody wants to get rid of me.” Cain paused, taking a breath before asking the question that was most important to him.